Sunday, March 08, 2009
Editorial: Giles County supervisor should go
Howard Spencer has betrayed the people's trust with an unwise project. He should resign.
From the RoundTable blog
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Howard Spencer is a busy guy. Too busy for some Giles County residents' taste. Way too busy.
Spencer is a county supervisor. He's also town manager for Glen Lyn, home to an Appalachian Power coal-fired plant.
It's the third hat that's rankling some the most, though: Spencer is executive director of the Giles County Partnership for Excellence, a nonprofit agency in charge of the controversial Cumberland Park project.
If Spencer gets his way, Cumberland Park will eventually be a commercial development along the New River.
Right now, though, Cumberland Park is essentially a coal-ash dump, where hundreds of tons of a potentially toxic material are being used to create a flat seven-acre site.
The project has been, understandably, extremely controversial. Coal ash can contain heavy metals and other toxins. If Cumberland Park were simply a landfill, a liner would be required and other regulations would have to be followed. But because it's being used for constructive fill, state and federal regulations waive those restrictions even though the site is in a flood plain.
Jim McGrath, chairman of the Concerned Citizens of Giles County, is calling on Spencer to resign his supervisor's seat. If he does not, McGrath wants the other supervisors to force him out.
Spencer should resign. He has a clear conflict of interest, and he has betrayed the trust of the people of Giles County with this unwise project.
But if Spencer refuses to resign, which seems likely, the other supervisors should let voters decide whether to kick him off the board at the next election.
